


The Things We Do For Love

by quietlyobscure



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Retail, Attempt at Humor, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Haikyuu!! Big Bang 2018, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, fake dating is between iwaizumi and daichi and is actually really brief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 03:49:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16987506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietlyobscure/pseuds/quietlyobscure
Summary: In which Daichi works a boring retail job, Oikawa is way too flirty for his own good, and Iwaizumi gets dragged into the stupidest plan brought into existence.Everything is going to turn out great.





	The Things We Do For Love

**Author's Note:**

> Annnnd here it is! The first part of my contribution to the HQBB 2018! 
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful and amazing beta [Astrid](https://twitter.com/cupofkoushi) for working with me and listening to me cry about this. Being able to work with you was a blessing, and I look forward to working with you again!
> 
> Also, a huge huge thank you to my amazing artist [ Yazz](https://twitter.com/blomozz) for choosing my story to work with, even though this is a super rarepair. She's been a joy to work with!

Sometimes Daichi doesn’t mind the fact that he works at a retail convenience store.

It helps pass the time, gives him a break from getting lost in his homework, and it gets him out of his apartment a few times a week. He gets to meet interesting people; some of them visiting multiple times, becoming a regular sight through his line.

His manager is pretty cool—he doesn’t ever seem to mind that Daichi technically doesn’t wear the full uniform they’re supposed to have on or the fact that sometimes he gets caught up at the end of class and ends up being a little (okay, maybe more than a little, if Daichi is being completely honest with himself) late for his shift. He’s only part-time but he’s made himself invaluable and he’s able to get away with more than one should be able to.

Not that Daichi ever takes advantage of this, of course. He always finds out by accident that his manager is soft and just kind of goes with it.

However, as much as he’s allowed to get away with, he’s not able to be mouthy to the not-so-great customers that come in through his line and complain about everything under the sun, like Daichi has control over everything and that he should be able to fix it just because they’ve brought it up.

It’s one of those nights tonight.

Daichi finds himself clenching his teeth and forcing a smile on his faces as he wishes customer after customer to “have a wonderful night!” He’s tired and he feels the beginning of a headache forming. He’s also cursing the fact that he’s the only one closing this shift because his co-worker that was supposed to be here decided that this was a great time to be sick.

“Thank you, enjoy the rest of your evening!” Daichi says, far more cheerily than he feels, as the last customer in finally leaves, a smile on their face as the repeat the sentiment.

He lets out a sigh of relief. The parking lot appears to be empty and the store is quiet. He pulls out his phone and checks for any messages that he may have missed in the last hour or so he hadn’t been able to check, and makes sure to keep an eye out for customers.

Time passes slowly after that initial rush.

Daichi counts down the minutes, but that just makes the time pass by even more slow. He’s finished all the tasks that had been left out for him to take care of, so he tries to keep himself distracted with his phone. He knows that he really shouldn’t have it out, should probably try and find something else to work on, because there’s always something, but it’s one of those things that he’s able to get with.

(Also, it doesn’t help that he knows for a fact that the manager on duty is in the back office and also on his phone, and not paying attention to what’s going on up front.)

“Well, you look like you’re having a busy night? I can come back later if that’s more convenient for you.”

Daichi straightens up quickly, stuffs his phone to the side so that it’s out of sight, and tries to shake off the surprise of being snuck up on. He’s not sure if he succeeds or not—probably not, if the smile on the customer’s face is anything to go by—but he plunges ahead with his rehearsed greeting.

“Hi, sorry about that! Did you everything that you were looking for tonight?”

The customer raises an eyebrow, running his hand through light brown hair, and the smile is replaced by a small frown. “Oh, that’s no fun. You’re treating me like your run-of-the-mill customer and I don’t like that very much.”

“I-what? I’m sorry?” Daichi stammers out, caught off guard. Sometimes he gets customers like this; they say things out of the normal and mundane sentences that he’s used to and he just don’t know how to reply to them.

“It’s alright, I guess. I know some people get tongue-tied pretty easily.” It’s said with a sigh, but the frown is gone, replaced by a more neutral expression. His items are placed on the counter and Daichi, on auto-pilot, begins to ring them up and place them into a bag.

Daichi never thought he would see a day where the customer actually would be right about something, even if that something wasn’t exactly related to anything that had to do with where he worked, because tongue-tied he is. He doesn’t say any of the pleasantries that he usually tries to get out, because he doesn’t think that they would be well-received if the previous reaction is anything to go by.

It was a short transaction and Daichi is reading out the total before he knows it, pointing to the card reader automatically before waiting for the payment to take. He taps his fingers on the counter, still not quite knowing how to act or what to say. The customer is silent as well and, despite it being one of the shorter transactions he’s had to deal with, it’s awkward. He doesn’t even know why, because he knows some of the people that come in don’t like the small talk that occurs, preferring to keep it brief and to the point.

However, this particular customer had seemed to have wanted an actual genuine conversation instead of the small talk or silence that Daichi usually deals with. Which, Daichi reiterates in his head, is weird. They don’t know each other. He’s not going to open up and tell his life’s story or anything, and he really doesn’t want anyone to hear anything like that from any of his customers either.

He places the bag full of items on the counter.

“Here you go and I hope that you have a great night?” Daichi makes a face as he says, cursing internally at how it’s said as a question. He doesn’t know how the customer will react and he doesn’t like that this is what throws his night off.

A sigh and then, “I’ll take what I can get,” is the reply that he eventually ends up getting. There’s a pause and then the customer is speaking again. “Do you usually work evenings here?”

“Uh, yeah,” Daichi says. “I have classes during the day, so evenings are the only shifts I can work.” He pauses, wondering why he’s offering extra-information out. But then he shrugs and continues. “I’m only part-time, though, and I don’t work on weekends.”

“So you mean that I can’t just show up and surprise you on a Saturday? That’s no good.” There’s a contemplative look on his face and Daichi is so so confused. Why would he want to come in and surprise him? The confusion must have shown on his face because the customer leans forward and smiles. “See, you look bored and I’m a nice guy. I figure that I should do my part and help your nights more interesting.”

Daichi blinks, because what.

“So, what you’re telling me is that you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart?” Daichi asks incredulously and he knows that the face he’s making goes hand in hand with his tone of voice. “What a kind, and thoughtful, samaritan you are.”

“Thank you, I do try,” the customer says, and he sounds pleased—he either doesn’t catch that Daichi is being sarcastic, or he just doesn’t care.

Daichi thinks it’s the latter.

Just then someone else slips into the line, and Daichi feels a rush of relief flow through him. He now has an excuse to end the awkward conversation without actually having to try. Daichi nudges the bag closer to the customer and then he’s repeating the rehearsed, “there we are, have a great night.”

“I really am going to have to take what I can get,” the customer mumbles to himself, nearly repeating his earlier statement in full. He leans over the counter, his attention caught by something behind the counter, and then he’s brightening up. “I will, don’t you worry! And I hope that you have a great night as well, Daichi. Hope to see you soon!”

There’s a smile flashed in Daichi’s direction and then the customer is grabbing his bag and walking away, leaving Daichi to shake his head in disbelief.

His attention is drawn back to the next customer as they clear their throat, placing their items on the counter. Daichi places the most pleasant smile on his face that he can manage as he greets them, inwardly cringing at how fake he sounds, and he hopes that it’s not as noticeable as he feels it it.

Daichi’s eyes glance at the time at the bottom of the computer screen and his shoulders nearly slump in disappointment—there’s still about a half hour before the store closes.

The customer clears their throat again and looks at him pointedly, and Daichi resists the urge to say something, just gives them their bag and tells them to have a “nice night.” They grab their bag from his hands and they roll their eyes, muttering under their breath, as they walk away.

He can totally make it through the rest of the evening without managing to get himself fired.

Right.

・・・

“Okay, but you don’t understand just how annoying he was,” Daichi says, after taking a sip of coffee, wincing as the hot liquid burns his tongue. “He just walked up and acted like he was the best thing to have ever happened to me.”

“Don’t you get customers like that all the time, though?” Iwaizumi asks. He looks tired, Daichi notices.

It was a busy day, a line of customers nearly out the door, but Daichi had decided to stop by at just the right time—Iwaizumi had just clocked out for his lunch break, right before the rush had started. The chatter of the all the new people coming in drowning out the music that played in the background.

“Unfortunately,” Daichi answers. He takes another sip of coffee, this time slower, doesn’t want to burn his tongue again.

“Then why does this guy bother you so much?”

Daichi hums in thought and then shrugs. He can’t really put it into words what exactly it was that had bothered about that one customer. Iwaizumi was right. Customers like the one before came in all the time. They usually weren’t so brazen, or outspoken, but he still had them. The encounter the previous night was stuck in his mind, and he couldn’t make it go away. “He called me by my name before he left. I hate it when customers do that.”

“Well, you do wear a name tag.” Iwaizumi’s voice taking on a dry tone.

“I know that, but the fact that he actually used it… was weird, okay? Who actually does that?” As soon as the words leave Daichi’s mouth, the alarm on his phone goes off, signalling that the he has about a half hour before he needs to be at work. He’s usually still at home at this time, but he had to run back to campus to speak to one of his professors about a project. Daichi had decided that it would be pointless to head back to his apartment, so he had made his way to the coffee shop that was next door to kill time.

He turns the alarm off and sets the phone back down on the table, face up so he could still easily see the time. He could stay for a little while longer.

“Good thing that you’re close by so that you don’t have to rush to work, huh?” Iwaizumi asks as he watches Daichi with his phone.

“I wouldn’t have rushed there anyway, even if my life depended on it,” Daichi says with a laugh. “But, I guess it’s still a good thing because I can relax a little while longer.” He pauses and then glances over at Iwaizumi. “I can also spend more time bugging you about things that you don’t care about. Like the annoying customer that come to visit me.”

Daichi tries to stifle a laugh at Iwaizumi’s scoff, and he knows that the other isn’t ever as annoyed as he tries to make it seem sometimes.

“Yeah, thanks for that, I guess. I don’t really need my ears all that much anyway. I could just look at what the screen says before completing the order,” Iwaizumi says, completely ignoring the sound of Daichi’s laughter. “I wouldn’t have to listen to you or the customers any longer.”

“That would be a plus, I’m sure.”

“So you see, you’re not the only one that gets annoying people that come through your lines.” There’s a pointed look in Daichi’s direction, and the laughter that Daichi is trying to hold back finally breaks through.

“Oh, come on! You have to let me live that down someday! I used to never drink coffee before I started coming here. I never knew that you could make it in so many different ways!”

“Sure, but you didn’t have to take 15 minutes to do so,” Iwaizumi looks down at his watch and then groans. “It’s almost time for me to clock back in, which means that you should probably head out as well.”

A quick glance down to his own phone confirms that statement. “I already want to head back home. That guy knows when I work, so there’s a chance of him showing up sometime before the night’s over.”

“You only have yourself to blame for that. You didn’t have to tell him your schedule, you know?”

“He threw me off guard! I didn’t mean to tell him anything,” Daichi states tiredly. Just thinking about heading into work, and possibly dealing with that one customer again, seems to sap out all of his remaining energy.

Iwaizumi reaches over and smacks Daichi’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. You go earn that shitty paycheck of yours. It’ll be worth it, eventually.”

・・・

It’s only halfway through his shift, but he can already tell that this evening is going much quicker than the previous night.

There are more customers, who all seem to be in generally better moods, and there are more tasks for him to work on. Daichi isn’t left with anything to do for long periods of time—less time to mess around with his phone or twiddle his thumbs—and he’s grateful for that.

His co-worker had also decided to come into work tonight, seemingly better today, even if he had seemed a little cowed by the glare that Daichi had sent his way when he had walked through the door earlier.

“Hey, I’m going to go ahead and take my break. You alright with that?” Daichi calls out, glancing over at his co-worker who wasn’t standing too far away.

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead. It seems like it’s finally died down, so now’s as good of a time as any. Just let the manager know so that I’m not completely alone, just in case.”

“I’ll make sure to let him know. Thanks,” Daichi says. He sets what he was working on aside, making sure that it’s left in a place that he can easily get back to it, and starts heading to the back of the store. His head is down in an effort to deter any customers that might want to try and pull him aside to ask for assistance. But no one tries to stop him; he’s able to get to the time clock and punch out without any hassle.

That is until he steps back out on the sales floor, lunch in hand and a sadly familiar sing-song voice speaking in his ear.

“Looks like I stopped by at the wrong time. What a shame.” The voice is tinged with disappointment. Daichi looks over reluctantly and sees the customer from the previous evening standing in front of him with a frown on his face.

“I guess? I just clocked out for lunch,” Daichi says, waving his lunch, even though he knows that he really doesn’t owe an explanation.

“That means that you’re not going to be for a while then.” The customer scratches his chin in thought and then shakes his head. “Damn, I can’t stay that long. I have plans tonight that I can’t get out of.”

“Okay?” Daichi is confused as to why he’s being told this—he hasn’t asked, and he doesn’t really care either. He really just wants to eat his lunch in peace.

“Wow, so mean! I can’t believe that you’re acting like you don’t care!”

“That’s because I don’t?” Daichi is certain that his sentences will eventually stop coming out as questions. “I don’t even know you, why would I care?”

“Oh, is that the only reason? Well then, let me change that for you,” the customer says before bowing deeply. “Oikawa Tooru, at your service.”

And that was not what Daichi had meant to happen when he had stated that they didn’t know each other. He didn’t want to know who the other—Oikawa Tooru, his mind unhelpfully supplies—person was. He just wanted to be left alone at work.

But the world obviously had it out for him.

“That’s…nice,” Daichi says in response. He doesn’t do the polite thing and introduce himself in kind, just wants to be left alone, and hopes that his short responses would clue the other in.

No such luck though.

“Not going to introduce yourself?”

“You already know my name. You read it off my nametag last night.” If he doesn’t get moving now, his lunch is going to be over sooner rather than later. Daichi doesn’t know how much time has already passed.

He starts walking, quickly.

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell me it,” Oikawa counters and he’s walking just as quickly as Daichi is, having already having caught up to Daichi’s long strides. “I’d really like for you to introduce yourself.”

Daichi stops and then sighs, turning towards Oikawa. “Fine. Sawamura Daichi. Happy now?” There’s a smile on Oikawa’s face, and he seems entirely too pleased by the fact that he got Daichi to actually listen to him. It’s irritating. “Can I eat my lunch now?”

The smile on Oikawa’s face turns back into a frown, and Daichi is astounded by how quickly the other seems to phase through moods. However, when he speaks, he doesn’t sound upset, just a little disappointed. “Oh, that’s right. Of course. I guess I’ll stop in tomorrow?”

And Daichi doesn’t know what possesses him to say what he says next, mentally cursing his inability to keep things to himself at this point. “I don’t work tomorrow, but I work on Friday.”

The smile that flashes at him is nearly blinding. “Well then, looks like I’ll see you then. Enjoy your lunch, Sawamura!”

・・・

“Why are you like this?” Iwaizumi says in disbelief after Daichi tells him about his latest encounter—keeping the fact that they’ve exchanged names to himself. He doesn’t want to give Iwaizumi another reason to scold him.

“I didn’t mean to tell him, it just… came out.” Daichi sheepishly shrugs his shoulders at the glare that is sent his way. “I know, I know, okay?”

“Is that right? Because it sounds like you don’t mind as much as you say you do.” Iwaizumi glances over at him. “You’ve been complaining about him nearly non-stop, since the first time he showed up, and now you’re telling him when you do and don’t work? And not just because he’s asking.”

“You know that I get flustered easily. I can’t control the things that come out of my mouth,” Daichi says and there’s a grin on his face as he picks up some of the remaining crumbs from his plate and then throws them at Iwaizumi.

“You’re such a child,” Iwaizumi says, wiping away the crumbs that had landed on him. He’s scowling, but there’s no heat behind it.

“You wouldn’t have me any other way, admit it.”

Iwaizumi just shakes his head, but doesn’t deny the statement.

A rush of customers start coming through the door, and Iwaizumi groans. Daichi sees him look over at the counter, and the manager is frantically motioning towards him to clock back in. Iwaizumi stands and starts brushing down his clothes, trying to make sure that they are no stray crumbs lingering. “Well, I guess this where I leave you. Try to stay out of trouble, okay?”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to worry about me,” Daichi replies, waving the concern off as he also stands. He tells Iwaizumi not to worry about cleaning off the table, that he’ll take care of, to just worry about getting back to work.

Iwaizumi is busy behind the counter, taking orders and counting out change, and Daichi shoots him a smile and a wave. His friend nods, and then Daichi is headed out, ready to end his day.

・・・

Oikawa shows up during his Friday shift, later on in the evening, near to closing time.

“Ah, there you are! My second favorite person.”

Daichi shakes his head as he hears the loud and boisterous voice. Oikawa doesn’t even bother with buying anything, just walks right through the door and straight to the counter. Daichi puts on a smile as he looks up, and he decides to just go along with it this time.

“Only second? That kind of hurts my feelings.”

“Well, of course. Iwa-chan is my favorite person,” Oikawa says cheerfully, as if Daichi had any idea who he was talking about—he doesn’t, but he’d be damned if he asked for Oikawa to elaborate on this person that he’s obviously close enough with to speak about in such a familiar way. “You’re a close-second though, so don’t worry.”

“So considerate, taking my feelings into account.” Daichi rolls his eyes as he says this. “I feel so special.”

“Only the best treatment for you,” Oikawa says and he looks pleased at the acknowledgment.

Daichi rolls his eyes, and he can’t believe that there’s someone out there that can actually say things like this without any shame.

・・・

Daichi’s evenings at work continue like this for the next few shifts, and he’s come to look forward to seeing Oikawa walking through the front doors. He never thought that he would come to enjoy spending time with the other, even if it was only while it was at work.

It was a weird feeling.

Daichi knew that Oikawa only stopped in to see him—he hasn’t bought anything since that first meeting, not even on impulse.

“There’s no other face that I want to see before my night ends,” Oikawa says when Daichi asks him about it.

Daichi scoffs at that, but he feels himself flushing. “You say that, but you still came in early that one day.”

“That was obviously an error on my part,” Oikawa says and he’s frowning. “I can’t believe you would bring that up.”

“You say that, but you still came in.” Daichi turns as the doors open and someone walks through, and he flashes a smile in greeting before he turns back to Oikawa. “I’m always going to bring it up, by the way. You should probably get used to it.”

“But why focus on that one time? I mean, you could be focusing on all the other times that I’ve come in. Those are much more exciting.”

“I could, but I kind of like remembering that you were so excited to see me again that you came in hours too early,” Daichi says—why in the world did that just come out of his mouth—but he’s grinning.

It grows into a full-blown smile as Oikawa sputters in indignation, and tries to say something in reply, his mouth opening closing multiple times. When nothing comes, Oikawa just scowls and then turns to leave even though there’s plenty of time.

“Have a great evening!” Daichi yells towards Oikawa’s retreating form, laughing as he does. “Hope to see you again soon!”

(Oikawa comes back the next evening with a smile on his face. The way he had left the night before seemingly behind him.

He leans over the counter, with a wide smile, just like normal.

Daichi leans over as well, which is not quite as normal, but he finds that he doesn’t mind this turn of events as much as he thought he would.)

・・・

“You told me that you have weekends off? How did you manage to get a job with that kind of availability?” Oikawa asks one evening, surprising Daichi.

“Well, I like to have those open because I try and see my parents as much as I’m able to,” Daichi says and he scratches his head, slightly embarrassed by admitting that he still frequently visits his parents. “They have a pretty hectic schedule sometimes, but they’ll have random weekends where they’re free.”

“That’s so sweet!” Oikawa practically coos at him and reaches over to ruffle Daichi’s hair. “You seem like a good son.”

“Well, they help with school and my apartment. I figure that the least I can do is spend the weekends with them.”

・・・

It’s about halfway through his shift the next time he sees Oikawa. It’s earlier than he usually came in, reminding Daichi of the second time they had run into each other—the day when they had introduced themselves.

“So, I stopped by this bakery today and I have some extra. Did you want any?” Oikawa asks as soon as he walks through the doors. He doesn’t seem to notice—or he does and just doesn’t care—that Daichi is currently with a customer, walking straight up to the counter and setting down the bag. “Everything is still warm too!”

Both Daichi and the customer he’s helping just stare, neither knowing how to react to the situation. Daichi shoots a pleading look at Oikawa before moving his gaze towards the woman standing in front of him, and then back to Oikawa.

The other sighs, a pout forming on his lips, but he grabs the bag and moves away from the counter, leaning against a display. And he waits for everything to move along.

The transaction finishes quickly—the customer seeming to want to leave as soon as a possible, the situation more than likely a little uncomfortable.

“Do you have any sort of self-control?” Daichi asks exasperatedly. He’s not upset, far from it, but it’s something that his manager would frown upon. “I work here. You can’t just come in like that while I’m with a customer.”

Oikawa deflates a bit. “Sorry. I just got a little excited. You’re not going to get in trouble?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine,” Daichi says, and he feels a little guilty. He waves a hand towards the bag in Oikawa’s hand. “What did you bring with you?”

“Oh! Just some pastries from a new bakery I found today.” Oikawa perks up and he’s back at the counter before Daichi can blink. “I was thinking… if you hadn’t already taken your lunch, if you would want to eat with me?”

Daichi blinks, and then blinks again.

“You want to eat lunch together?”

“Yeah? I mean, only if you want to, of course.” Oikawa has a smile, but it’s tight, and he’s shifting his weight side to side—Daichi can tell that he’s nervous.

“Actually, you know what? That sounds like a great idea,” Daichi says, leaning forward. “Just give a few minutes to to let me talk to my manager,”

The smile he gets in return definitely doesn’t make butterflies flutter in his stomach or anything.

・・・

“I think he might be flirting with me,” Daichi says on one of the rare days that he and Iwaizumi are actually able to hang out outside of where they work. “But I’m not sure? He might be incredibly friendly.”

“Oh my God,” Iwaizumi groans out, smacking his forehead. “He comes in nearly every shift just to see you. Not even I do that and we’re actually friends.”

“But he hasn’t tried giving me his number yet. I mean, isn’t that what usually happens when you like someone?” Daichi asks, and then he’s rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Or, am I supposed to give him my number? I don’t know the proper protocol for this kind of stuff.”

“Do you want to give him your number?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. What if I give him my number and it turns out I read everything all wrong and I make it awkward between us?”

“But then you’d at least know if he likes you or not,” Iwaizumi says and he glances over at Daichi with a pointed look. “You should just ask for his number and see if he would like to hang out after work. It’s not that difficult of a concept.”

Daichi hums in consideration, but doesn’t say anything, content to continue walking. The silence isn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but there’s a tinge of irritation tainting it. Iwaizumi was waiting for Daichi to acknowledge anything that he had just said, but Daichi was content to window shop at every store that they passed.

“How about—” Daichi begins, and then Iwaizumi is raising a hand and he begins to wave it in front of his face, effectively cutting him off.

“No,” he says empathetically. “Whatever it is that you’re thinking about right now? It’s a no. I’m not listening.”

“You haven’t even heard what I have to say!” Daichi says, frowning over at Iwaizumi.

“I know, and I don’t want to know.” Iwaizumi is staring directly in front of him, determined to not look at Daichi and then he sighs. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“It’s a good idea, though.”

“You know that it’s not,” Iwaizumi counters and he finally looks back over at Daichi. “A good idea would be to just talk to this person. Anything is a bad idea.”

“Oh, come on. Can you at least hear me out first?”

“Okay, okay. Fine,” Iwaizumi says finally, after thinking about it for a few minutes. He doesn’t sound happy, but Daichi will take what he can get. “Lay it on me.”

“So, basically, you and I should date.”

Iwaizumi abruptly stops walking, not caring that they’re in the middle of a busy sidewalk and are now dealing with people who don’t seem to care that there’s a new obstacle to walk around—they’re too busy trying to get to their own destination to pay much attention to anything else—and he just stares incredulously at Daichi.

Daichi just stares back, waiting for Iwaizumi to say something.

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” Iwaizumi says, shaking his head in disbelief. “No, that’s… that’s worse than what I was expecting.”

“And why is that? We pretend to date, I let it slip that I have ‘boyfriend’, and see how he reacts.” Daichi shrugs as he says this, as though it’s not a big deal. “If he doesn't react to it, then we know and I don’t embarrass myself by pretty much asking him out.”

“What are you going to do if he actually likes you?” Iwaizumi asks, waving one of his arms again. “No. This is a ridiculous idea. You know that these things never work. It’ll just create unnecessary drama, and you know that I stay as far away from that as possible.”

Iwaizumi starts walking again, taking long strides and Daichi has to rush to catch up to him.

“Technically you don’t have to do anything but agree,” Daichi says as he finally catches up to Iwaizumi. So you wouldn’t be involved in any drama if it that even happens.”

“This is going to blow up in your face, and I’m going to say ‘I told you so’ when it does.” Iwaizumi sounds so disappointed and he’s shaking his head again.

But it is not ‘no’.

“Don’t worry,” Daichi says, and he throws an arm around Iwaizumi’s shoulders as their pace begins to slow down. “Everything is going to turn out fine.”

He ignores the look that Iwaizumi shoots in his direction—the look that says that he’s making a very stupid and wrong decision. It’s a look that he’s used to, having been on the receiving multiple times by now. He’ll admit that sometimes his idea aren’t always the best, but he doesn’t think that this one is all that bad.

Daichi thinks it’s a better decision than admitting everything outright on the off-chance that he had read everything incorrectly. It’s happened before and he would really like for it to not happen again. It wouldn’t if he had any say in the matter.

They continue walking around after that before stopping to grab lunch. Their conversation ends up straying to safe topics—work stories, classes that they’re taking, any plans for summer break they might have.

(The topics of flirting and dating and bad decisions are deliberately ignored and pushed aside.)

・・・

Oikawa comes in with a coffee one of the nights he stops by, the logo on the cup familiar and staring Daichi directly in the face. Daichi knows that it’s nothing ground-breaking or anything, seeing as the shop was right around the corner, but it was a perfect opportunity to casually bring up his boyfriend into the conversation.

“Do you like that place?” Daichi asks as he motions towards the cup in Oikawa’s hand.

“Ah, I have a friend that works there, so I decided to finally stop by and bug him,” Oikawa says with a smile. He takes a small sip, scrunching his nose a little. “It’s a little more bitter that what I usually go for, but it’s not too bad.” Oikawa looks over at Daichi and asks, “What about you?”

Bingo.

“My boyfriend works there, so I’m kind of obligated to like their coffee,” Daichi says, but before he can gauge Oikawa’s reaction, the phone rings and he puts his focus on speaking with the customer that’s on the other end.

It’s a short conversation, just someone asking if they were still open—which makes Daichi roll his eyes because sometimes there are such things as stupid questions. Daichi hangs up before turning back towards Oikawa, who is on his own phone and his fingers are typing furiously It’s the first time that Daichi has seen the other with his phone out when he’d come to visit.

“Is everything alright?” Daichi asks, watching as a frown forms on Oikawa’s face as he continues to type.

“Huh? Oh yeah,” Oikawa says, and he sounds a little distracted. “I’m sorry. I forgot that I had made plans with a friend and I’m being yelled at.” He lets out a little laugh, though it sounds strained to Daichi—he just chalks it up to being scolded for being late. “I should probably get going though.”

“Oh, okay, sure.” Daichi looks over at Oikawa, but the other still isn’t looking over, still preoccupied with his phone. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“I might be a little busy, but I’ll see what I can do!” Oikawa finally looks up at Daichi with a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He waves at Daichi, and then he’s rushing out the door as he receives a call. Daichi figures that he really did lose track of time.

Daichi continues watching through the glass, watches until he can no longer see Oikawa who had been talking agitatedly on the phone.

Someone clears their throat and Daichi pulls his gaze away from the window.

Right. He has a job to do. He puts on his best customer service smile and greets the customer, who is not happy that he had to wait for Daichi to finish dealing with whatever he was dealing with.

“Hi, sorry about that! Did you find everything that you were looking for this evening?”

(Oikawa doesn’t come back the next night, or the night after that.

And then days are passing by and Oikawa still hasn’t stopped by.

Daichi doesn't like the way that his heart hurts.

Sometimes, when he's told that something is a bad idea, he should listen.)

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/quietlyobscure)!


End file.
